Stoves which burn solid fuels such as wood, coal and briquettes have previously had incorporated into them heat exchange tubes for heating water. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,521,142. Such stove and heating devices afford a means for conserving fuel oil, gas or electricity by substituting less expensive or more plentiful fuels such as wood or coal.
The present invention provides an improvement for such stoves. In the preferred embodiment the present invention involves a stove suitable for home use as a supplementary heating means capable, if desired, of use for some cooking and baking chores while at the same time providing an inexpensive means for heating of domestic hot water.
The stove according to the present invention includes a conventional fire chamber confined within metal walls having conventional fuel loading doors, dampers and exhaust flues. The stove utilizes a hot water heat sink which is in open 20 communication with the room air, thus supplying humidity into the air when the stove is in use. The present invention further contemplates the use of such water reservoir as a heat sink for preheating domestic water by passage of said water through a heat exchanger located in the water reservoir prior to passage through further heat exchangers located within the fire chamber. Such water reservoir further provides moderate heating of the water even when the fire has burned down by extracting.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved wood or coal burning stove which is of a relatively inexpensive and practical design suitable for use in the average home. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.